Science fiction
OPINION: Last week's announcement of Prime Minister’s new Science and Technology Advisory Council hasn’t gone down too well in the science community.
It will be a good junket for a newly minted MP plus a platoon of extras to jet to: it is in Dubai, so expect a lavish affair with a buffet (locally sourced food, no doubt) to die for.
Whoever goes, they will emit a ¼ tonne of CO2 per flying hour, per passenger. From Auckland to Dubai, that’s 4.25t of CO2 per person.
The UK and most EU member countries will no doubt send an army. From London to Dubai, each person will produce 1.75t of CO2. Washington DC to Dubai is 3.25t of CO2. Canberra, 4.25t.
Ex-Climate Change Minister James Shaw will be disappointed he isn’t going. In 2021 he got a bit prickly defending his trip to COP26 in Glasgow when Jamie McKay accused him of taking “a rugby team” with him (he took 15) – 68t of CO2 all up. By way of excuse, Shaw said at the time that Fiji was sending 50 people. It’s a 21hr flight from Fiji, so 50 people would have emitted 262.5t of CO2.
